Press Release

South Florida Museum Announces New Political Exhibit, Vote For Me! Vote For Me! The Marketing of Presidential Campaigns August 28 - November 25, 2012

Vintage and rare Presidential campaign materials will be on display at the South Florida Museum in the Curatorís Choice on the 2nd Floor, August 28 - November 25, 2012 in the new exhibit, Vote For Me! Vote For Me!

Bradenton, FL, August 10, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Vintage and rare Presidential campaign materials will be on display at the South Florida Museum in the Curator’s Choice on the 2nd Floor, August 28 - November 25, 2012 in the new exhibit, Vote For Me! Vote For Me! The collection starts with George Washington and traces the history of Presidential races from the creation of the office in 1789 to the present day. The collection is on loan from a local Sarasota County collector as an opportunity to educate about the historical role political campaigning has upon current campaigning just in time for the Republican National Convention.

Presidential candidates have solicited votes using scarves, hats, buttons, razors, posters, dolls, pipes and more. This method of “campaigning” is documented through the historical artifacts included in the exhibition at the Museum. What can the past tell us about the present? More than 200 examples of American Presidential campaign materials spanning the past 56 presidential races will give us an insight into how politicians and campaigns of the past affect the political campaigns of today. Every four years, campaign after campaign, the consensus seems to be “making your guy look great and the other guy a rascal,” said Matthew D. Woodside, Director of Exhibitions and Collections at the South Florida Museum.

Vote For Me! Vote For Me! will open to the public on Tuesday, August 28, 2012. A special exhibition reception will be held on Thursday, August 30, 2012 from 5:30 – 7 p.m. The cost for the reception is $10 for Non-Museum Members and is Free to Museum members.

“We are excited about this opportunity to have such an intriguing collection here at the South Florida Museum. Especially with the Republican National Convention happening right in our own backyard, we hope this exhibit will help people understand how the more things change the more they stay the same; how politicians and their political parties have long known about the power of marketing, slogan making and the importance of image in getting people to support your guy or gal,” said Woodside.

Some colorful slogans to be included:Election of 1852 “We Polked you in 1844; We’ll Pierce you in 1852”1856 “Free-Soil, Free-Speech, Fremont”1876 “Honest money, honest government”1900 “Four more years of the full dinner pail”1900 “Prosperity at home, prestige abroad”1900 “He’s good enough for me”1916 “War in Europe, Peace in America, God Bless Wilson”1924 “Keep Cool with Coolidge”1932 “Cheer up the worst is over”1940 “We don’t want Eleanor either”1940 “I’ll bet my (image of a donkey) on Willkie”1952 ‘I like Ike”1960 “All the way with JFK”1960 “Kennedy is the remedy”1964 “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue”1964 “Goldwater in 64 means hotwater in 65 and bread and water in 66”1968 “Win with Dick”1968 “Some talk change, others cause it…Humphrey”1972 “Nixon now more than ever”1976 “A Ford is no Lincoln”1980 “Go home peanut Farmer, The Reagans are moving in”1984 “America, Reagan Country”1988 “Dan Quayle’s Mother now believes in abortion”1988 “Bush reminds every woman of her first husband”

The exhibition is organized and curated by Matthew D. Woodside, Director of Exhibitions and Collections and Ashley Burke, Curator of Collections/Registrar at the South Florida Museum.

*To schedule an interview with Matthew D. Woodside about the exhibition, contact Emmalee Legler at 941-746-4131 or elegler@southfloridamuseum.org

*Photographs of items are available by request.

About the South Florida MuseumThe South Florida Museum is the largest natural and cultural history museum on Florida’s Gulf Coast, featuring engaging exhibits as well as educational programs which interpret the scientific and cultural knowledge of Florida, the world and our universe. The facility includes the all-digital Bishop Planetarium and Parker Manatee Aquarium which is home to Snooty™ the manatee.

The South Florida Museum is located at 201 10th Street West in downtown Bradenton. Current operating hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Sundays, noon - 5 p.m. Regular General Admission is $15.95 for adults, $13.95 for seniors (65 and over), and $11.95 for children (ages 4-12). Children ages 3 and younger are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult. For more information, please call 941-746-4131 or visit www.southfloridamuseum.org.